Residents of Greenfield in eMbalenhle accuse municipality of unfair billing

Residents of Greenfield in eMbalenhle are accusing the Govan Mbeki Local Municipality of unfairly charging them for water services even though no water meters have been installed in their homes.

Community members claim their monthly municipal statements list water meter numbers and household water consumption, even though no meters exist in their area.

According to Petrus Moloi, a community representative, the situation has left many residents deeply concerned, with some households reportedly owing between R30 000 and R100 000 for municipal services, including water.

“What is most painful is that the municipality has begun blocking our electricity meters, demanding that we pay the current account plus old debt. They have even failed to hold a meeting with us to hear our cry,” said Moloi.

Moloi said last year, a contractor was hired to install water meters, but they managed to install meters at only three houses. Those meters allegedly recorded usage even when neighbouring homes used water from shared connections, resulting in charges for the households where the meters were installed.

“That led the contractor to stop installing the meters, while the municipality continues to bill us for water without meters being installed.

“We want to know where they get the meter readings that appear on our statements and the volume of water we supposedly used.

“Maybe they are assigning us other households’ meters from different extensions. If that is the case, the municipality is defrauding us,” Moloi said.

He added that residents have tried to engage the municipality about their concerns but have not received a response. Some residents made payment arrangements despite disputing the charges, yet their debts allegedly continued to rise.

“Some community members tried to settle their municipal accounts but were surprised to see that instead of going down, the debt kept increasing even while they were paying.

“We want an explanation of why we are being charged for water without meters and where they are getting these readings. They must show us the meters for which we are being billed,” Moloi said.

He further alleged that the municipality never installed proper water infrastructure in the area, and that residents rely on pipes originally installed by contractors who built their RDP houses.

“The water we use comes from pipes installed by the RDP housing contractor. What exactly is the municipality charging us for when it did not install water infrastructure for us?” Moloi asked.

Residents are calling on the municipality to urgently investigate the matter and provide clear answers about the billing system.

Donald Green, the municipality’s media liaison and content developer, said that, in accordance with the municipality’s official meter-reading methodology and current tariff schedules, households without functional water meters are billed at a flat rate approved by council in its annual tariff schedule.

Green said this remains in effect until a meter is officially installed for the household.

“The municipality performs a “dummy billing” process each month, and an exception report is typically run before this process to ensure accounts are handled correctly.

“If a meter is missing or a reading cannot be taken for any reason, the bill is based on an average calculation of the previous consumption.

“Once a meter is installed and read, any over- or under-estimation is automatically incorporated into a corrected bill,” said Green.

He said all property owners with a private water connection (or where a connection is available but not used) are liable for a monthly minimum basic charge (availability charge), regardless of whether water is actively consumed.

“For community members registered under the Indigent Management Policy, the first 10kl of water per month is provided free of charge,” explained Green.

He said if the Greenfield residents believe their estimated charges are inaccurate, they can lodge a formal dispute at their nearest billing or customer care centre.